Method and means for handling textile fibers



Sept.' 17, 1935.1" s. s.- HoL-r I ETHOD ANDl MEANS FOR HANDLING' TEXTILE. FBERS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 2., 1934 vwl.. m D. 4

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S. S. HOLT METHOD A NDhMEANS FOR HANDLING TEXTILE FIBERS- sept. 17, 1935.

Filed Nov. 27, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 SEYMOUR s. Hou' Panarea sept. 17, i935 METHOD AND MEAN S FOR TEXTILE FIBEBS HANDLING Seymour s. non, Gamm, N. c. Application November 27, 1934, Serial No. 755,028 'I Claim. v(fil. l9 107) reclaiming and use of strippings from cardingmachines used for carding any type of textile fibers.

Heretofore, the conventional way vof preparing textile `fibers for a drawing operation has been to take the raw stock and put -it into aI bale breaker from whence it is carried to an opener vand then to fa' Murray machine and the like. Then it is transferred from these machines by means of a main condenser onto an automatic picker-feeder which feeds the raw'stock to the pickers, usually first to `a breaker picker which forms the fibers into llaps and these lap rolls are placed into a finisher picker where the nished lapA rolls are prepared. These finished lap rolls are then placed in the intake end of a carding machine from whence the bers emerge in the form of a web and are drawn through a trumpet and deposited as a sliver Vinto a suitable can. vFrom the can, thev slivers are fed to drawing machines, fly frames and the like, for the preparation of the finished yarn. Y

'I'he carding machine haswhat is known as carding mechanism or carding cylinder with card clothing thereon and a doffer cylinder.' The doffer cylinderhas the web of textile bers removed therefrom by a stripper comb or roll which strips it oif in the form of a web which is condensed by means of a trumpet into a sliver. In

the carding operation, the motes, leaves, dirt and other foreign substances are removed from the r cotton or fibers. The carding cylinder has what is known as a stripper mechanism which strips the waste cotton onto a suitable roll where a roll ofstrippings is formed.

The rolls of strippings have heretofore constituted a source of great loss in the textile in dustry and especially in the manufacture of cotton goods. These strippings Iare lled with all kinds of impurities and heretofore have been `of no valuewhatever except to be soldas-waste.

Some attempts have heretofore been made to ing tax on cotton, these strippings represent an ,investment of over four cents per pound plus the price paid for the cotton, which is much more than the-strippings can be sold for in the open market as waste.,

t It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide means whereby these strippings can be reconditioned and the foreign matter removed therefrom thus reclaiming the good cotton contained therein and working this good cotton inv 10 the conventional manner or depositing it in` whatever percentage desired back into the workingof the raw stock as the raw stock is prepared for the carding machines. v

I accomplish this result by collecting the rolls 1 5 of strippings andpassing these rolls of strippings through conventional cleaning system, pickers; and carding machines, but instead of the carding machine taking the fibers therefrom in sliver form, the bers are removed in loose form thus 20' rendering the cotton into a state where it is i'. easily mixed or handled as ordinary raw stock. If the fibers coming from the carding machines as a result of reworking the strippings, were saved in bulk in sliver form, it would be im- 25 possible to mix the strippings back into the open-Av ing machinery on account of the fact that the slivers or rolls would become entangled in the machinery; 1consequently, it would be impossible to work the same unless by hand operation, the 30 slivers or rolls were torn into small bits which would be very expensive and the cost of such reworking would be prohibitive. I

I therefore accomplish the desired result by providing certain of the carding machines with pneumatic suction nozzles located adjacent the stripping mechanism on the doier cylinder of the carding machine which receives the loose cotton fibers from the doercylinder of the carding machine and conveys theloose cottonV fibers thus 4o recarded from the strippings back into the source of supply ofA the raw stock where I can mix it with other raw stock or work it separately as first grade cotton iibers.'

,Some of the objects'of the invention vhaving been stated, other objects will appear as the description proceeds, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:-

Figure `1 is a diagrammatic layout of a textile 50' plant equipped with my invention;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the discharge end i of acarding machine equipped with myinvention;

Figure 3 is an elevation of the discharge end-of 55 a carding machine equipped with my invention, showing the invention in elevation and the floor in section;

Figure 4 is a vertical sectional view taken along 5 line 4--4 in Figure 3.

Referring more specifically to the drawings, the numeral I0 indicates a conventional bale breaker While II and I2 indicate other forms of openers which are connected in series by meansof ducts I3, I4 and I5 to a suction pipe I6. The bale breakers and openers are usually located in one portion of the building or in a separate room from the rest of the machinery. The raw stock is placed into the bale breakers and passed therethrough and through the openers prior to its being fed to the pickers. The suction pipe I 6 is connected to a main condenser and suction fan I1 from whence the raw stock is fed onto an automatic picker feeder I 8 which feeds it to the breaker pickers I9 and 20, or as many additional pickers -as may be deemed necessary.

The breaker pickers form the fibers into lap rolls and in more recent installations, iinisher pickers or lappers are geared thereto and driven in unison therewith, there being several pickers in a row, and the fibers are fed continuously therethrough. In the present instance, the finisher pickers or lappers 2I and 22, are provided and the lap rolls are taken from the breaker pickers IS and 20 and several of these lap rolls are usually placed in the iinisher picker where they are all picked at the same time and `formed into a finished lap roll at the discharge end thereof. These lap rolls are then taken to suitable carding machines and fed to the intake end thereof. These lap rolls are carded and the cotton emerges from the discharge end of the carding machine, said cotton being discharged from the doffer cylinder by a stripper comb or roll into the form of a very ne 0 web.v This web is usually passed through a trumpet where it is condensed and passed through a coiling mechanism where the slivers, which are condensed in the trumpet, are deposited in suitable containers. These containers are then placed at the intake end of the drawing machinery for successive operations for drawing, spinning and twisting the fibers into a finished yarn.

' The carding machines also have stripper rolls which collect the strippings from the carding machines. 'I'hese strippings are waste cotton, leaves, husks, dirt, and in fact all of the impurities in the cotton are collected on the stripper rolls. Heretofore, these strippings have been sold as waste and in a few instances, as heretofore 55 stated, have been thrown back into the opening room where they are mixed with the raw stock but this means that all of these foreign substances which compose a great percentage of the strippings, are thrown into the pure raw stock which o' contaminates the same and results in inferior slivers, resulting in inferior yarn. Y `I have provided a method and means whereby these strippings can be reworked and thus a great saving is effected. The cotton laps normally pro-J duced on machines 2| and 22 are not carded on machines 25 to 21, but are carded on the conventional carding machines having coiler and trumpet mechanisms. I provide one or more of the carding machines 25, 26 and 21 in my establishment with a different form of mechanism for receiving the fibers from the discharge end thereof. Instead of withdrawing the weh'from the do'er cylinder in the form of a sliver, I prefer to doff it in a form of. looseI cotton. These special 75 carding'machines 25, 26 and 21, therefore'have the trumpet and coiling mechanism removed and in lieu thereof I secure nozzles 3B, all of the nozzles being identical, on one or more of the carding machines which I may use for these lap rolls of strippings. The strippings are collected from day 5 to day and. I then take these strippings and pass them through the opening and cleaning machines and the pickers to form lap rolls and then feed them to the intake end `of the special carding machines having the suction nozzles 30 and recard l0 these strippings to remove therefrom the impurities. If desired, I could take them out of the carding machine in sliver form, but this would not be as finished a product as from the raw stock as there might be a slightly higher percentage of l5 impurities in this reworked stripping stock than in the raw stock. I therefore deem it better, on account of the fibers being probably somewhat shorter in the strippings than in the raw stock, to mix these recarded stripping."J back into the raw 20 stock.

For carding the lap rolls of strippings the coiler mechanism, the trumpet and rolls are removed from the carding machines 25, 26 and 21 and the nozzles 30 are secured thereto disposed in close 25 proximity to the dofer cylinder 3| of the carding machine. 'Ihe stripper comb 32 is conventional and it is oscillated by means of an oscillating shaft 33 which is a conventional structure and the Iweb 3,4 of vthe recarded stripping, instead of being 30 formed into a. sliver by the trumpet and coiling mechanism, is received into the upper end of the nozzle 30. Each one of the nozzles 30 has a duct 36 secured at the lower end thereof which is connected to a. main duct 31. The main duct 31 35 is usually disposed beneath the oor 31a of the mill in which the carding machines are located, although it is evident that it could all be handled on one floor of the mill. The main duct 31 passes into another room and is forked, forming por- 40 tions 38 and 39 with gates 4D and 4I respectively, therein. The branch 38 is connected to the intake end of combined .suction fan and condenser 42 Whose discharge pipe 43 usually leads to an exhaust flue 44 on the exterior of the mill. This 45 condenser and fan 42 is usually disposed immediately above a self-feeding hopper 45 and the recarded strippings are allowed to drop from condenser 42 into the self-feeding hopper' 45 in case the opening machinery. pickers and the main condenser and fan I1, previously described, are not in operation. This means that Vthe carding machines 25, 26 and 21 may be operated for the reworking of the strippings while the rest of the machinery is not in operation if desired, and the 'strippings which are being reworked are withdrawn from the carding machines 25, 26 and 21 by means of the rsuction nozzles 30 and deposited In the self-feeding hopper. Later on, when the pickers are started in operation as well as the drawing in of additional raw stock from the opening room, the self-feeding hopper can be set into operation to feed the rejuvenated strippingsat whatever rate desired to cause them to be with-` drawn by a suction tube 48 which is connected to 65 the lower portion o f thev self-feeding hopper. These rejuvenated strippings are passed through tube 48 into tube 43 and to main condenser and fan I1. When this is being done, of course gate 4I will be closed. 70

However, if the recarded strippings should be desired to be fed at full rate into the main condenser and fan I1 along with'raw stock which is being opened up in the opening room and drawn lntQthe condenser through duct I6 by the 75 2,o14,a44 .suction fan therein, then gate 40 will be closed t out of operation and the recarded strippings could be drawn through tube 39 into the main condenser and could again be drawn through the breaker and finisher pickers to frm lap rolls for the conventional carding machines to be again .carded and passed into sliver form into the coiling mechanism for the draft machinery.

While I have shown the ,web of fibers being removed from the discharge end of the carding ma- ,chine by suction, it is evident that other suitable means can be employed for removing `these bers in loose form from the carding machine.

In the drawings and specification there has been set forth a preferred embodiment of the invention, and although specific terms are employed, they are used ,in a'genericand descriptive sense only, and not for purposes of limitation, the scope of the invention being set forth in the appended claims. i

`l. That method of re-working strippings froml carding machines for textile fibers which comprises collecting the strippings and cleaning the same to form the strippings into lap rolls and then recarding the strippings and removing the web of recarded strippings from the carding machine in the form of a loose web.

2.v That method of reclaiming the textile fibers in strippings i'n carding machines which comprises collecting the strippings and forming the same into lap rolls and then carding the strippings, then removing' the carded'strippings from the carding machines in loose vform Eend then mixing the loose strippings with raw stock to utilize the strippings in the manufacture of yarn.

3. Apparatus for handling -strippings taken from carding machines having a doifer cylinder which comprises a suction nozzle associated with the doier cylinder of aicarding machine for receiving the fibers doffed from the doifer cylinder, a suction pipe connected to the nozzle, a condenser comprising the usual separator and suction fan associated with the suction pipe for movling the fibers through the nozzle and suction pipe chine tothe first or second condenser'.

and means connected tsaid condenser for withdrawing fibers from another source to mix the same with the strippings removed from the carding machine. f

4. Apparatus for handling textile fibers com- 5 prising a carding machine, a nozzle' disposed in close proximity tothe discharge end of the carding machine, a condenser,A a suction pipe connected to the nozzle and to the condenser for conveying iibers from the carding machine tothe condenser, a container disposed beneath the-conv denser and into which the fibers conveyedto the condenser may fall, afsecond condenser, means forfeeding raw stock of textile bers to the second condenserl means for conveying textile bers from the container to the second condenser-- whereby the two types of textilecbers are intermixed.

5. Apparatus for handling textile bers from a carding machine comprising means for-stripping the `fibers from the machine, a suction nozzle associated with the discharge end of the carding machine for conveying the web therefrom in loose form, and a suction condenser connected to said IlOZZle.

6. A carding machine having a doffer cylinder and a stripper knife, a nozzle disposed in close proximity to the stripper knife and the doifer cylinder and suction means connected to the nozzle for drawing the web discharged from the doifer cylinder into the nozzle.

'7. Apparatus for handling textile fibers comprising a bale breaker; an opening machine, a condenser, a suction pipe connecting the bale breaker and the opener to the condenser, a picker, means for feeding the bers from the condenser to the picker, a self-feeding hopper, a suctiony pipe connecting the condenser and the selffeeding hopper, a cai-'ding machine, a nozzle disposed at the discharge end of the carding ma- 40 chine for receiving the web therefrom, a second condenser disposed above `the self-feeding hopper,

a piped connection between thenozzle and, the second condenser, a second piped connection between the first piped connection and the rst condenser, a third piped connection between the self-feeding hopper and the rst condenser, and gates in the rst and second connections for selectively directing the fibers from the carding ma- 

